Escaping the Void
by passon
Summary: AU spin off/LotF Invincible During the final duel with Jaina, Jacen has an epiphany. Will his new found clairvoyance guide him back to the straight and narrow or is it a temporary sanity that overcomes him in a moment of weakness... rating may change
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't some momentous revelation that knocked sense back into Jacen Solo. It wasn't even the fact that he managed to escape some corrupting maddening force entity. It was the fact that he was about to die. Proximity with death makes trivial things seem significant. And suddenly things that had seemed minor climbed in importance. The order of importance relating to facets of his life seemed to be completely rearranged. No longer did such a high and mighty goal as bringing "Peace and Justice" to the galaxy seem as consequential. No longer was reaching Allana and Tenel Ka to warn them of impending doom paramount.

No, here, at that very moment, Jaina's lightsaber arching towards his chest on a straight path towards his heart, he suddenly worried about other things. _What sort of legacy am I leaving behind? Do I really want to become the next frightening tale, recited to Jedi initiates as a warning? _It certainly wasn't noble or idealistic, it was selfish but it was also very human. Yet at that moment self preservation for the sake of salvaging his reputation in the eyes of those that survived him seemed of the highest import. He wanted someone to weep for him. And at that moment in time that had seemed to freeze, he felt convinced that no one but his parents and his sister would shed a tear.

And those would be tears for those lost. For the two sons that had died over a decade before in a war of never before seen magnitude and ferociousness. They would be tears for a brother that had betrayed her trust in his convictions, only forced to realize that her love for him was secondary to his beliefs of what should be. In short they would be tears of relief that the nightmare had come to a sudden painful end. No longer would they have to worry about the atrocities that Jacen Solo may very well commit the next day. No, they could comfortably mourn the death of the young empathetic man who only wished to make those he cared about laugh. He knew that to them he had died alongside Anakin on that disastrous mission to Myrkr.

All of this flashed through his mind in an instant and with sudden force. And with this newfound clairvoyance he realized an all too familiar truth. He wanted to live. Yet this time it was for an entirely different reason. It was long past due to make some amends.

He reached out to the force and wrapped himself in an illusion. Yet the illusion was not in the illusion itself. Jaina would not be fooled by the sudden of appearance of anyone. She had come to this confrontation for one purpose. And she knew most of Jacen's tricks. The illusion he covered himself in was his own form. As he felt the lightsaber cut into his side he reached out and extinguished her lightsaber. It was minute exertion and Jaina, in her sorrow and anger did not sense it. Yet Jaina would know that he was alive in a split second if he did not make it believable. And if she decided to turn her lightsaber "off" right after it reached his heart from her perspective, he would be dead regardless. But that was a gamble he had to take.

He called out to Tenel Ka through the force, sending a telepathic warning of the bio-weapon that the Moff Council wanted to use against them. He reopened his twin bond with Jaina at the same time and with roaring clarity he felt all her pain and sadness and… her surprise at his presence. And just as suddenly as he had opened himself up to her he forcefully closed his connection to her and hid his presence in the force more thoroughly than he ever had.

Reopening his twin bond with Jaina was his saving grace. She was so shocked by the sudden reemergence of something that had been suppressed for years that she forgot to "extinguish" her saber. He collapsed on the ground before her as realistically as he could. Pain shot up his leg as the severed nerve endings around his dissected Achilles tendon flared to agonizing life partially due to the adrenaline subsiding from his body. But that was not the biggest problem. His entire body had been transfixed by a lightsaber through his stomach. He was dying. Darkness was already creeping at the edge of his vision as he stared up at his sister who was staring at his collapsed form in shocked sorrow. He would have smirked at the irony of her sorrowfully and sadly cutting him down but that was wasted energy. In the distance somewhere he thought he registered the clatter of a lightsaber falling to the ground to his right.

He drew on as much force energy as he dared without alerting Jaina to the fact that he was still alive and poured healing energy into the hole that was through his torso. His eyes widened from the pain of feeling the tissue that was severed and cauterized and melted into free floating atoms reform, slowly and gradually closing the perforation. The process was so draining he feared for his consciousness. And losing consciousness at that moment might have him waking up to the unpleasant sensation of a funeral pyre… in _his_ honor. The morbid joke kept him alert to an extent but he admitted that he was likely flattering himself… knowing that no funeral pyre would probably ever be erected commemorating him.

Nevertheless the fatigue threatened to overwhelm him when suddenly he felt his head lifted and placed on a warm soft surface. He opened his eyes to find Jaina looking down on him with tears streaming down her face. She was mumbling something about the twin bond being restored and that he wasn't really dead. The awkwardness of the situation caught up to him with staggering clarity. Here she was holding his head on her lap, mourning him after he had murdered and destroyed more peoples' lives than he could count in a lifetime. And the worst part was that he wasn't really dead. A part of him wished he was as tears welled up in his eyes. He felt like slime.

"You're not really dead. You'll always live on in my heart." Jaina whispered, choking on her words.

Jacen almost stopped healing himself, hearing those words. He did not deserve to live. The horror of his deeds caught up to him even as he tried to flee the truth in his mind. He had killed his one friend. The one person that had given him the benefit of the doubt for so long… and he had rewarded her faith in him by alienating her so much that she felt compelled to hunt him down and kill him. He had killed his master's beloved wife. And what would Chewbacca say if he was there now, knowing that the child he had helped rear, had rewarded the love and understanding of his surrogate parent by destroying his home and, in all likelihood, members of his family. And his long list of crimes did not end there.

He felt the shadow of death closing in on him once more. It did not even feel unpleasant. It felt painless, welcoming. A stark contrast to the pain and agony that had been his constant companion for nigh on fifteen long years… _NO!_ _ I can't die like this. _He focused all his considerable powers once more, pouring them into his grievous wound, feeding of the resurfacing pain that spiked through his nervous system. _I have to live in order to die with some peace of mind. Not like this. _He had been lucky that Jaina's lightsaber had only grazed bone or his wound would have been beyond his skills to heal.

Yet now he had another problem, no less lethal in nature. The illusion that was fooling Jaina into thinking him dead could not be kept up indefinitely. And he could not very well get up and walk away like some holovid horror zombie. Killing Jaina was not an option. Not only because he had suddenly rediscovered his conscience, but also because her corpse would definitely imply the survival of him, which would have every law enforcement agency in the galaxy and half again as many bounty hunters chasing him to the furthest reaches of the outer rim. Yet he needed to get out of there. And unless he thought of something quick it would have deadly consequences.

He opted for the direct, unsubtle approach; one that was in contrast to how he had been getting things done for quite some time now.

"Jaina." He said her name gently so as to not startle her.

She did not even seem to hear him. The effect his "death" was having on her made him feel lower than low. Yet he had gone too far to turn back now.

"Jaina!" He repeated more forcefully. Her head snapped up and she looked around. She was searching for the origin of the voice. When her eyes finally came to rest on his own she immediately tensed. He had dropped the illusion and used her momentary distraction to call his lightsaber to his hand.

"Impossible." She whispered. She shook her head and blinked several times apparently not trusting her own eyes. "Jacen?"

He nodded slightly. Her expression seemed to harden almost instantly. "You Sith blight!" she hissed reaching out for her lightsaber prepared to finish the job. Jacen was filled with respect for her sense of duty. The fact that moments before she had been genuinely morning his death and now, that duty called, she was quite willing to lay aside all her emotions to slice him into pieces was quite admirable. He ignited his own lightsaber just as she was calling her own to her outstretched hand.

His crimson blade coming to life right below her chin put a stop to her attempt to finish him off right then and there. Her wary gaze fell first on his lightsaber and then his face. She sneered. "Well I'm starting to understand Luke's annoyance when he speaks about how many times he had to "kill" Emperor Palpatine until the old Sith finally died for good." Jaina stared at him disgustedly. "So you haven't been dead this whole time?"

"Afraid not." Jacen croaked. He still felt ridiculously exhausted from the last hour or so of events. The comforting embrace on unconsciousness hiding at the edge of his awareness ready to pounce on him the moment he drifted off.

Jaina shook her head sadly. "Are you even a little…" she did not finish her sentence afraid of how absurd it may sound.

"Ashamed?" he filled in.

Their eyes met briefly and something like hope flashed across Jaina's face but it was quelled almost immediately. "You're Sith scum Caedus. Nothing more. You're attempts at gain sympathy from me are wasted effort."

Jacen shook his head sadly. "If I was truly as evil as you think me to be why haven't I killed you yet?"

Jaina scoffed. "I'll wager anything that it's not because you love me brother dear."

Jacen slowly rose, wary of her movements, yet aside from the icy look she was giving him the presence of his lightsaber at her neck was a large enough deterrent. It seemed that the force might finally be with him again. He knew trying to rise onto his feet with his wound would be an exercise in futility and one that would send even him spiraling into unconsciousness. Any normal human being that was still recovering from having his arm chopped off and subsequently perforated through the stomach followed by a severed Achilles tendon would have left most human beings curled up in a fetal position and though that seemed an almost alarmingly pleasant idea to him he knew this was not the time.

He looked around the room for some long bar like object he could use as a crutch. A metallic pole that must have served as an axis to some mechanism lay haplessly tossed into a corner, presumably by either one of his or Jaina's force blasts. He called it to his outstretched hand with the force. Jaina used that precise moment to propel herself backwards into a somersault calling her lightsaber to her own hand and igniting it in one swift motion.

Jacen brought his own weapon into a middle guard, all the while slowly backing to the exit of the room. "Listen to me Jaina, please, if not for my sake then for the sake of your niece, my daughter."

Jaina took a step towards him. "Hiding behind children now are we?"

Jacen's eyes blazed with fury. "No! I am not "hiding" behind _my_ child. I'm asking you to think past your idealistic need to kill me and see the bigger picture. A moment ago I heard your grief when you thought me dead. Yet aside from you no one will think about the person I once was. No one will mourn for the person that discovered the way to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. As it stands, the fact that I am Allana's father is like a sword suspended over her head." He paused to let the words sink in. "I _have_ to make amends."

Jaina's sword lowered ever so slightly. The determined look in her eyes did not waver however. "Why should I believe you?"

He leaned against the frame of the door, the relief borne from this simple action pulsing through his wearied frame. "I could reopen our twin bond again and you could feel the truth. But that would probably alert our mother to my being alive as well. And I can't have that. That alone should reassure you. If I was planning on continuing my reign of terror why would I need to hide?"

He could feel the force gathering in his sister. She knew he was too weak to resist any offensive force powers any longer. "At least you call it what it really is. No equivocation to hide the truth. Assuming you are telling the truth, something I don't quite believe, what possible right do you even have to redemption? Why should I let you leave and make amends?" She gave him a once over, her eyes widening when her gaze came to rest on the hole through the fabric of his attire, the skin beneath it having almost completely healed. "And you better make it good considering your condition."

"Because I want my daughter to grow up in a galaxy where her own father's name is not a curse and a byword for filth. Because I want my mother to not have to live with the fact that both her sons died by the sword. Because I want my cousin to be able to look me in the eyes and see something other than the murderer of his mother. Because I want my uncle to look at me and see something more than a horrific failure. Because I want my father to pull me into a hug and tell me that he's proud of me." He choked on his words at that. Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Most of all I want to stand by the side of my sister and be a shield against the evils seeking to destroy her, not embody to them.

"But that can never be. No. Not after what I've done. The most I can hope for is that I can die with a sliver of peace. I can hope to die not hating myself."

Tears were running down his cheeks. His vision was blurred but it looked to him as though Jaina's eyes were not dry either.

"Jacen." She said tentatively, hiccupping.

"Jaina." He smiled at her lovingly.

With three quick steps she had rushed up to him and enveloped him in a hug. Jacen's one arm wrapped around her as they both cried. For the first time in many years Jacen held her as a loving brother would hold a grieving sister. Jacen felt torn apart by the fact that he had for so long been naught but a source of torment to someone who loved him so much. He should have been someone for her to rely on. Yet he had used her. A stepping stone he had used without compunction to get where he wanted to go. And here she was, forgiving him.

"I don't deserve your love or forgiveness." He said to her.

She looked up at him. "I know."

"I sense a presence making its way here. It blazes in the force but it's not force sensitive." He nodded towards the far door. "I must leave before Colonel Fel sees me."

She nodded with understanding. He sensed her desire for him to stay and return to the family but he knew that could never happen. "Tell me where you will go at least?"

"I can't." He said with finality.

Jaina's sorrowful expression turned instantly stern and unforgiving. An image flashed through his mind at that. Jaina, in a beautiful gown sitting on a throne… The very same expression on her face as she listened to the pleas of some traitor… She was formidable now.

He sighed. "I think it's long past time that I visited an old acquaintance."

Jaina gave him a quizzical look. "That doesn't tell me where you're going."

His lips curled in a smirk. "It does."

She gave him a confused look. A moment later understanding flashed through her eyes. He backed up from their embrace and clipped his extinguished lightsaber to his belt. As he turned his back to her, putting his weight on the makeshift crutch he turned his head over his shoulder once more. "Don't tell anyone I survived, not even Colonel Fel."

She nodded. "I won't. Why you would think I would tell him over others beats me but…"

Jacen smiled at her. "Maybe I have more insight into some matters than you do after all."

Jaina shrugged her shoulders. He waved once more and resumed his walk down the flickering corridor to the backdrop of blaring alarms. With each step the impact of his "crutch" caused a resonating clang that echoed down the hall. As he rounded a final corner into a hangar where his StealthX had been prepared for him, he felt Jaina touch his mind once more. _If you make me regret letting you go this day I will hunt you down personally. _

As surprised as he was that she had been able to find him in the force he allowed himself a chuckle. _Leave it to Jaina to have the last word, _he thought as he climbed into the fighter's cockpit. He engaged his stealth systems and hurtled out of the hangar, leaving another chapter in his life behind.


	2. Chapter 2

The shrill blare of the alarm-chrono within the small cockpit of the StealthX jerked Jacen out of sleep back into reality. He groaned as he tried to get his bearings, the events of the previous day catching up to him with alarming speed. His fighter had reverted back into real space automatically over Muunilinst. Jacen's entire body felt like it had gone through a meat grinder and was then glued back together. The fact that he had gone from Chief of State to presumed dead war criminal over night did not lighten his spirits.

There were positive sides to the deal however. For some reason he found himself able to think clearly once more. Like he had been staring at the world through some sort of red haze for almost a year… And it had been lifted. Perhaps the dark side did really turn one into an insane megalomaniac. All that philosophical rhetoric Lumiya had tried to feed him about the Sith being about order and justice in an absolute sense was pure lies. Either that or he wasn't strong enough to wield that kind of power without being corrupted.

A message began to scroll across his in ship computer: _The Space Port authorities request the intentions of a Galactic Alliance war vessel in their air space. Do you wish to manually respond or shall I send them a message of your choosing. _

"Send them the following code Arnine. Nothing else. "X32-785-50"." Jacen spoke into the cockpit.

The droid gave him an affirmative message over the screen. Now Jacen could do nothing other than wait.

"So do you have any further designation other than R9?" He asked the astromech.

_Industrial Automaton preferred to build only one line of R9 droids when they designed us. We are, however, more highly customizable than any previous series. The choices on what kind of accessories we are to be outfitted with lies wholly in the hands of our buyers. _

"What upgrades do you have?" Jacen inhaled deeply, trying to focus on anything but the pain wracking his body.

_Since I am one of the five droids aboard the Anakin Solo selected for personal use by the Chief of State, yourself, I am outfitted with upgraded navigational modules. I am capable of improvising secure jumps from existing data and I have the fastest possible response time on calculating existing routes. I am outfitted with a personal defense blaster. Anakin Solo's chief mechanic had it installed to please Darth Maniac or so he mumbled as he was attaching it. I am unaware to whom he was referring. Furthermore…_

Jacen chuckled despite himself. Apparently his R9 was _not_ equipped with a tact module for his interface. Darth Maniac. That struck a little too close to home for comfort. If that was the way his own staff on board the _Anakin Solo_ had referred to him behind his back… well then he had definitely made the right decision when he decided to abandon that life. Somewhere along the line he had irreparably messed things up. Where and when was something he might devote another session of introspection to. He did not feel like engrossing himself in another "oh woe is me" session.

He looked down at his monitor and realized the astromech was still filling the screen with an ever growing bulk of text regarding its capabilities and upgrades.

"So did I get the narcissist model?" he asked.

The astromech immediately stopped its tirade.

_I was merely complying with your request. _

"You could try to be more succinct about it." Jacen admonished.

_Or you could be more explicit about what you wish to know._

"Sassy! We'll get along quite well I think." Jacen retorted, smirking.

_If you say so, Chief. Incoming transmission._

"Patch them through… and refer to me as Jacen. Titles and honorifics are a part of my past now."

_As you wish, Jacen. Patching through…_

A static crackle came through the speakers, followed by a flicker of the visual interface. The face of an attractive woman in her late twenties or early thirties appeared. Her expression seemed to convey a mixture of surprise and apprehension when she saw him.

"Chief of State Solo… I see the rumors of your death are severely exaggerated." Her voice was pleasant but it had a cold edge to it.

Jacen nodded. "Apparently. I have been in hyperspace for the past few days and am not completely up to date with contemporary news. However I wish to enact my right of confidentiality for the duration of my business with your bank on Muunilinst. My visit is private and I wish to remain outside the public eye. Could you meet me at the designated landing pad and insure that you are the only person I come in contact with?"

"Confidentiality is rule number 1." She said with a smile. "I'd be happy to accommodate your wishes. Landing pad 3-09 has been cleared for your arrival. I will see you there." Her image flickered out.

"Take us in by way of the designated route Arnine."

_Affirmative. _

As his vessel broke through the lush green planet's atmosphere it made straight for the silvery grey speck which Jacen knew to be Harnaidan, one of the largest cities on the planet and the headquarters of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. The city however was not his destination. Once the StealthX had partially broke through the atmosphere it did not descend further but maintained altitude. His destination was High Port, a massive Sky Hook that served as both the Space Port and business center for the numerous banks that had their headquarters on Muunilinst.

After a few minutes his astromech was guiding the vessel into a private docking bay reserved for customers on one of the outlying hangar spheres of the station. He quickly scanned the surrounding area but noted nothing suspicious or out of place. Arnine gently landed the vessel with all the precision of an automatic pilot. Jacen keyed a button to retract the cockpit and painfully rose out of the cockpit. A small automatic stairway had been rolled against the side of his StealthX. Jacen supported his weight on his left arm grasping the railing of the stairway tightly. He felt strangely and absurdly vulnerable by his injuries. Like he was wounded prey and the carnivores were prowling.

He definitely had to do something about this. When he reached the bottom of the stairway he looked up to see the woman he had spoken to through the com look at him worriedly. He had been focused so much on getting down the stairway without killing himself on accident that he had not sensed her approach. _I definitely am going to have to do something about this… _

The lady regarded him with a concerned expression. She seemed to wish to assist him in some way but thought it might offend him.

"We have repulsor chairs, if you'd like me to have one brought here Chief…" She said.

Jacen was about to decline when he realized how absurd it would be to have him stumble through the various corridors trying to be inconspicuous.

"I would greatly appreciate that." Jacen said, with a smile.

Moments later he found himself floating alongside the accountant, a hood pulled up around his face.

"As you probably are aware, Chief, the galaxy is in a bit of a chaotic state at the moment. Partially because of the war. Partially because of your supposed death."

He nodded all the while probing his leg for some way to heal his injury. He sensed the shredded fibrous tissue and knew that this was beyond his skills to heal. Healing an injury with the force to save his life was one thing but this was neither life threatening nor done under duress. Besides it was a lot easier to regenerate and knit tissue then creating a square inch of tendon. Usually the force was capable of some remarkable feats of healing but his specialty had never been healing. And trying something this dire when not in a life threatening situation could have extremely negative consequences.

"Chief? My lord?" His escort was saying.

Jacen looked over blinking away his thoughts. "Yes? I apologize. My injuries are distracting me."

They finally reached the lady's office door which she keyed open for him. He hovered through the door. "Do you have a doctor on station somewhere?"

"Of course. We have a medical center that is quite well equipped and staffed. Would you like me to escort you there?" She asked politely.

"No. I was wondering if you had a doctor who caters specifically to the needs of your staff. I wish to remain incognito." He replied.

"Uh, yes. But, uh, Dr. Jorg is for staff emergencies only. I…"

Jacen gave her a pointed look. "Then tell him you feel acute pain or some such."

"That would be a breach of protocol. I could get fired." She retorted, trying to sound stern.

Jacen sighed. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. Please. I am in agony and I really need a doctor."

It was true that he was in a great deal of pain, yet pain did not show itself in the way he carried himself so he understood the fact that she was not taking him completely serious. Yet his last statement must have stirred something in her for she retreated behind her desk. She keyed a number. After a few moments an image came to life over her desk projector.

"Miss Inalya? What can I do for you?" From what he could tell Dr. Jorg seemed to be an Iridonian Zabrak.

"Dr. Jorg. Could you come to my office with as much medical equipment as you can carry? I have a customer in a great deal of physical pain yet he came here incognito. He refuses to go to the Med Center on station and asked for you explicitly."

"I'll be there as fast as I can." The image immediately vanished.

Jacen leaned his head back in relief. The short trip and movement had exhausted him profusely. He felt himself drifting off when Inalya's voice startled him.

"Chief?" She had walked up to his repulsor chair. "Are you alright? Are you sure I shouldn't contact medical emergency?"

"No!" He exclaimed with force. She seemed startled and backed up a step. "Sorry. I just… I can't be seen."

"A- As you wish." She turned back towards her desk and sat down behind it. "What can the Coruscant United Bank do for one if its most esteemed clients?"

"I'm here to close my accounts." Jacen said, after a moment.

The exhaustion was hampering his ability to think clearly. _What is taking that doctor so long? _

Inalya nodded. "Of course. I'll need to see some proper identification. And of course I'll need your account number."

Jacen produced an identi-chip and placed it on the desk sliding it towards her with the force. He knew it would reaffirm his identity and make him appear a little less vulnerable seeming to anyone with predatory intentions who might have been watching. She grasped it with seeming calm though he could sense a little surprise.

She typed some things into her computer and shortly after returned her attention to him placing the identi-chip half way towards him on the desk, deliberately out of reach. "Thank you. And your account number?"

Jacen smiled pleasantly glancing at the identi-chip. _Either she likes a show or she is the doubting type. _He grasped the chip with the force and floated it into his open palm. Her eyes followed the chip with curious interest. Most people never saw a Jedi's powers in action and he realized this was probably a story she would tell her grandchildren. He gave her his account number.

He watched her type the number into the console with interest. He doubted that the government had already seized his assets but it would not be the first time in recent years he found his expectations disappointed.

A moment later she looked back up. "Twenty-two million credits?" He nodded, the relief he felt imperceptible on his features. "And you would like the entirety of the amount in hard currency?"

Jacen gave her a lop-sided grin he had copied off his father. "I wish to retire into private life."

She nodded, a smile of her own gracing her features. "Well this amount should go a long way into making that a comfortable endeavor."

"How soon would I be able to be presented with this sum?" He asked.

"Within an hour or two... There are of course some datapads that you have to fill out. Nothing too time consuming however." Inalya replied.

At that moment the door opened and a Zabrak of medium height entered the room with quick steps. Without breaking stride he immediately steered in the direction of Jacen and came to a halt in front of the former Dark Lord's repulsor chair. He looked him up and down, his eyes settling momentarily on the raw reddish skin of his recently healed stomach transfixion. His eyes actually widened when his gaze came to rest on his right foot hanging at an odd angle. He quickly scanned the numerous little gashes in various places on Jacen's body.

Then he turned to Inalya. "What did you expect _me_ to do here?"

Jacen didn't give her time to respond. "_I_ expected you to do what you can."

Dr. Jorg turned back to Jacen and gave him a once over. "You look familiar. No matter. You realize of course that you have a severed calcaneus tendon. I can't fix that without staff. Perhaps a med droid... Strong narcotics will of course be necessary." The doctor was illustrating his point with wild gesturing.

Jacen grew tired of the Zeltron's exasperation quickly. He reached out and grasped the Iridonian's arm. "You _will not _need narcotics. You'll find that I have an unnaturally high tolerance for pain. You can get a med droid so long as I can perform a memory wipe on him after we are done. And if you manage this here, without the aid of any staff you will find yourself one hundred thousand credits richer."

Jorg stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and surprise, glancing at his arm held in a vice like grip by Jacen and then back at the former dark lord's unwavering gaze. "You're serious…?"

"Deadly serious…" Jacen retorted with just a hint of threat in his tone.

Dr. Jorg looked back at Inalya who just shrugged her shoulders. Then he returned his attention to Jacen who was now smiling pleasantly. Then he straightened and proceeded back towards the door. "Well there are a few things I need to get."

"Of course you do…" Jacen said, more to himself than to the doctor.

The moment the door swooshed closed behind the Zabrak, Inalya came back around her desk and sat on the edge of it facing him. Jacen, in a moment of appreciation realized just how good the green dress looked on her. When his eyes came to rest on hers she raised her eye brow. "You realize this is all very… unethical?"

"So are the limits of my generosity." He replied.

"I see. Well I guess I'll just return to settling your accounts." She returned to her previous position and delved into her work. Jacen was strangely soothed by the sound of the gentle typing and felt like he was drifting off. After a few moments of painless semi-consciousness he was once again crudely jerked out of his reverie. The doctor had returned with a state of the art med droid and a hover cart with an assortment of appliances and something soaking in bacta. Jacen took this all in with a glance.

Dr. Jorg gave him a quizzical look. "You're sure about this sir? Without narcotics the pain will be nearly unbearable. I'm almost certain you will be knocked unconscious by it. I know a Wookie would be."

"Would you be willing to smuggle some narcotics and hide me in this office until their effect wears off?" he asked glancing from Dr. Jorg to Inalya. Inalya shook her head energetically mouthing the word "no".

"I am a professional and I take my profession seriously. Besides if I was caught I would lose my license." The Zabrak replied.

"Then it's all a moot point. And I'd refuse the narcotics if they miraculously showed up anyway." Jacen shot back.

The Iridonian shock his head, muttering something about false bravado. Then he produced some sort of device that looked an upside down Y with two half circular padded ends.

"What's that?" Jacen asked.

"It's for emergency child births for humanoid species. Put your right leg on the right leg rest." The Iridonian said.

Jacen complied. "I feel like I've just been emasculated." Pain shot up his leg as his foot, hanging at an awkward angle brushed against a severed nerve cluster. He did not flinch, however.

Inalya chuckled. "Miss Inalya. I'll need you to serve as an assistant in this procedure." Dr. Jorg's statement spooked away her mirth.

"Me? I get nauseous at the sight of blood!" She exclaimed aghast.

"Just think of the credit chips." Jacen interjected.

Inalya seemed disgruntled by the implication of his statement yet, nevertheless, came around the desk and placed herself next to the hover cart.

The doctor handed him some bunched up blood absorbent cloth. "You might want to bite on this."

"Nonsense..." Jacen declined with an accompanying gesture.

Dr. Jorg shook his head. "I don't know whether or not you are insane or I am." Jacen gave him an annoyed look. "Alright let me walk you through the procedure. The stuff you see floating in the bacta is a tendon substitute. I will need you to stretch your leg while Inalya holds your foot. Once we have found the correct position I will have to use a medical adhesive to attach the tendon filament to the severed ends of the tendon. Once that is accomplished I will need to put your foot in a bacta cast which you will have to have removed in five days. Now are you absolutely—"

"Yes!" Jacen interrupted.

"Alright." The Zabrak pointed at the foot while kneeling on the floor next to Jacen's outstretched leg. "Inalya I need you to gently grasp his leg and rotate it in the direction that I tell you to. From my point of view of course."

She took up position in front of Jacen and gently grasped his foot. Yet gentle as she was Jacen still felt the pain.

Over the next half hour the doctor and the glorified accountant began an agonizing steering of his foot into just the right position which, even though it involved the most minute movements, felt like they were twisting Jacen's foot right off. When they finally found the right position Dr. Jorg brought his hover cart to floor level and laid down on the floor beneath Jacen's outstretched foot. "I'm going have to cut away some of this cauterized flesh and replace it with some skin substitute."

"Whatever you have to do doctor..." Jacen hissed through his teeth.

As the Zabrak began cutting away pieces of his skin Jacen felt as though he was back in the embrace of pain. The white was closing in. And strangely he felt like it was returning him to a better time. He became dimly aware of, after a few agonizing minutes of cutting and scraping away flesh, that the Zabrak was inserting something above his foot. He was amazed that his nerves were still transmitting after all they had been through. The white merely became starker when the Iridonian poured some sort of stinging liquid on the open wound. He felt his fingers digging into the armrests of his repulsor chair but he made sure not to cry out. That could catch someone's attention outside the office and that was an unaffordable possibility. After several minutes of seeming idleness he felt some sort of moldable material covering his wound shortly followed by heat.

He opened his eyes to see what was going on. "What are you doing now?" He asked, leaning his head to the side to see what was going on. He saw the doctor holding some sort of orange glowing lamp to the wound.

"My god, you're still conscious." The Iridonian nearly dropped the lamp in surprise. "That's unnatural."

Jacen gave him a pained grimace that barely passed as a smile. "I did try to tell you. Well what is the lamp for?"

"It's a specialized light frequency that dries the skin supplement I had to insert to replace the cauterized skin I cut away."

Jacen nodded and leaned back. Shortly thereafter the doctor turned off his light and soaked some absorbent cloth in bacta that he then placed over the skin supplement. With some more cloth he began to wrap half of Jacen's foot and a good portion of his shin in a mummy like cocoon. Jacen only just realized that at some point during the procedure they had removed his shoe. Once that task had been completed Dr. Jorg spent the next thirty minutes placing Jacen's foot in a cast. Since this relieved Inalya of her job she retreated behind her desk with a relieved expression and returned to arduously devoting her full attention to her computer.

"Well… I think I'm done." Jorg pronounced finally.

"You did a good job, doctor." Jacen replied sincerely.

"It's a little disconcerting to have a non-comatose patient congratulate me after a difficult surgery." He said, stretching. After an audible crack he sighed in relief. "I must say, you're the most extraordinary patient I've ever had."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Can I take my leg off of that… _thing_ now?" He asked.

"Not yet. Let it harden a little longer." The doctor explained. "Additionally… how will you forward me the credits?"

"I assume you have a bank account with Coruscant United?" Jacen asked.

"Yes." He answered, retrieving a datapad from his pocket.

The Iridonian typed a few successive numbers on it. Jacen held out his hand but made a point to keep his hand close to his chest. When the doctor approached, Jacen's hand shot out and grasped the man's neck. Dr. Jorg resisted for a moment but once force energy poured into him he stopped struggling. Inalya had risen out of her chair but Jacen shoved her back down.

"Don't worry, I'm not harming him." He said soothingly.

The mixture of the force push and his tone placated her. He touched the doctor's mind and rubbed away the memories of the last hour or so. He knew that no matter how hard the man tried he would not be able to keep this unique and excellent job to himself. If nothing more, he would brag to a relative who would in turn brag to another relative and so forth. As soon as he had finished he released his hold on the man's neck. Dr. Jorg just stood there swaying a little.

Jacen wove his hand. "You want to return to your medical praxis and continue your work."

The man repeated the statement and left the office in a daze. Jacen settled his gaze on the frightened lady behind the desk. "Are you going to do the same thing to me?" she asked.

He sensed her hand hovering over a button below her desk that would call security. He shook his head. "You can remove your hand from the security button. And I very much intend to pay the doctor the credits I promised. I am, believe it or not, very grateful. I just cannot risk him telling anyone about today's occurrences. He is after all not bound by contract to respect a patient's confidentiality in the same way you are."

She seemed slightly relieved by his statement. "So do you want me to forward the one hundred thousand credits to his account before I finalize our business?" she asked.

"Yes. And treat yourself to the same sum." He added.

"I cannot. That would arouse suspicion since I'm the one who closed your account." She interjected.

"Then you will just have to accompany me to my fighter and I will give you the credits in hard currency." Inalya handed him a couple of datapads and turned towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"To get the suitcases with your money…" She said, spinning on her heel.

"Wait!" Jacen exclaimed. "Did you say cases?"

"You did not expect me to fit twenty two million into a single case did you?" she asked, amused.

"I'm going to need a bigger ship." Jacen said, sighing. "Is there some place on the station that I can buy a Freighter or a Yacht that can be crewed by me and an astromech droid, which also has a hangar large enough to fit a StealthX?"

"Well I'm no expert but there is a Starship lot in the cargo ship dock sphere. Would you like me to show you the way?" Inalya said.

"Why not?" He responded after a moment.

"Well then you can fill out the datapads while I guide us to the vault where they should have the suitcases with the credits for you now."

"Sounds good," he agreed, while pulling the hood of his robe back over his face.

A couple of hours later they were in the cargo ship dock sphere. Jacen was animatedly discussing matters with the sales man, a hovering Toydarian.

"You're telling me the only vessel that you have that meets my specification is the _Horizon_-class star yacht?"

Jacen looked behind him to see Inalya idling by the hover cart laden with five heavy metal cases. He definitely would have preferred flying something other than the very vessel Mara Jade had used up to the day of her death. Yet he was not the sentimental type and he was not going to cause an unnecessary delay merely because the type of vessel reminded him of one of his many misdeeds.

"Does it have any upgrades?" he asked.

"Other than the modules that allow you to crew it with only an astromech droid, no, it's with factory specifications." The toydarian replied. "Brand new too. Doesn't even have a lightyear on it."

"And the price?" Jacen queried.

"Three hundred thousand credits." The toydarian said with finality.

"Miss Inalya." Jacen called the lady to his side. "Could you be so kind as to count out three hundred thousand to this… gentleman?"

She nodded and opened one of the suitcases. The toydarian's eyes glimmered at the sight of all the money. "Is there anything else—"

"No thank you." Jacen replied immediately. "Just have the vessel flown outside the station and brought outside the planet's atmosphere. Have your staff leave the hangar open so I can bring my X-wing into the berth."

"As you wish sir," the toydarian replied. "I'll have the customizable encrypted ID pad left in the cockpit of the ship for you. You can name the ship with that."

"Thank you." Jacen replied.

Once the business had be concluded Jacen returned to his StealthX and, after parting ways with a happy and richer Inalya, left High Port, relieved that all had gone according to plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Not to give anyone the impression that I'm presumptuous or demanding but it's a little annoying when I post chapters and receive no reviews _but _get frequent e-mails informing me of the fact that my story has been added to the "story alert" function by pen name "soandso". I prefer blatant flaming to lurking. Please review. Thank you in advance.

Jacen brought his StealthX into the rear hangar of his brand new _Horizon_-class star yacht. His astromech voiced appreciation on his choice by sending some complimentary message over the in-ship computer that Jacen barely registered. As the StealthX came to rest on the metallic surface of the hangar he was overcome by a bit of nostalgia. Jacen, even when driven by the dark side had not enjoyed killing Mara. It was something he did out of what he deemed necessity. And that was no doubt the insidious trap of the dark side. The idea that the wielder was actually capable of deciding _what _was necessary. It was a blatantly obvious arrogance, clearly perceptible from an outside perspective yet completely veiled from sight to the person himself.

Jacen retracted the cockpit and maneuvered himself out of the vessel. Before he had left High Port he had managed to get his hands on an actual crutch. He pulled it out of the cockpit and leaned it against the StealthX. Using the force to cushion him he jumped off the side of the vessel and floated to the hangar deck.

"Arnine," he said, looking over at the droid still in its socket behind the StealthX's cockpit. He gestured with the force and floated the protesting astromech to the deck beside him. "Let's peruse our new home, shall we?"

The little droid beeped back a response and followed Jacen out of the hangar into the corridor that led to the frontal cockpit. They passed a few dorm rooms, one of which Jacen mentally set away as his own cabin, and reached their destination. There was an astromech slot in place that Arnine promptly located and connected itself to. Jacen limped to the pilot chair and sat down. He placed the crutch within arm's reach against the wall but made sure it was placed in a way that only a rough turn would cause it to tumble all over the cockpit.

He glanced across the consoles slowly, trying to commit to memory were everything was. He thumbed a few switches and an audible, rhythmic hum passed through the vessel. "Seems we got sublight…" he said more to himself than the droid, who was no doubt aware of everything he was doing through the navigator jack. "Let's see what this ship can do." He pushed a lever to maximum and the yacht visibly jumped forward, propelling past a stationary freighter. _Not bad… _he thought. After a few maneuvers and some adjusting of the inertial inhibitor he was satisfied.

"Arnine?" he called out.

The droid warbled a response.

"We're pretty close to the edge of the Unknown Regions. We have a planet to find and if I remember correctly this particular planet likes to hide." He closed his eyes for a moment, reaching out with the force as much as he dared without alerting Luke to his survival. "I have a set of coordinates for you." He listed them and Arnine forwarded them to the navigation console. Shortly thereafter they appeared on the console followed by an _"are you certain"_ query. "Those are the coordinates to Mobus a gas giant in the Klasse Ephemora system. An old friend of mine used to make that area his home."

Shortly thereafter the computer displayed an absurd number of successive jumps required for the safe navigation to that particular planet. "Twenty jumps? 24 day travel duration? That can't be right…" Jacen had a sudden revelation.

"One moment…" He rose from the chair, summoned his crutch and left the yacht's cockpit. After a few minutes he returned. He went to the navi-computer's data jack and inserted a holodisk. "Download all of the StealthX's data, Arnine. It's originally from my old skiff I used during my five year sojourn. It even has some special touches, compliments of Talon Karrde."

The droid seemed uninterested in the comments, the only audible response Jacen could hear from its corner was the occasional quiet beep. Jacen walked towards the piloting chair, noticing a small datapad with a miniature silvery antenna lying on the floor. _Must have fallen off something when I dialed the engines to max sublight... _He was about to grab it with the force when he realized that he was allowing his injuries to make him complacent. He bent down and picked it up. He sat down and read the ship's id. _Well… what to name her… _A sardonic voice inside him told him to go with "Jade" followed by a nominative noun. He quickly silenced that part of him.

"The _Wayward Knight_, vessel of the former Sith Lord and Jedi Knight, Jacen Solo." He said to out loud after a few minutes of brain storming. "Why not…"

He typed the name in and hit the accept button. He glanced at a monitor displaying an image of the vessel. It displayed the vessel rotating with _Horizon-_class star yacht written beneath it. After a moment the text changed to _Wayward Knight. _

"Arnine, I trust you've downloaded the data by now. Recalculate the quickest route to the destination."

A moment later the navi-computer's display read: _4 jumps; 3 day 14 hour travel time._

Jacen allowed himself a smile of appreciation. "Engaging hyperdrive."

A moment later the stars streaked into lines and the jump to light speed was achieved. Jacen leaned back, put his foot on the consoles and let himself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

Many hours later Jacen awoke cold and uncomfortable. He stumbled out of the cockpit in a daze. He instructed the astromech to dial up the heat for the yacht on his way out. He entered his previously chosen cabin and gave it a quick once over. It had an adjacent fresher and a decent sized bunk. There was a small closet yet the entirety of the place was pristine in a cold way. It struck him that the few possessions he had were all still on Coruscant. That included some priceless holocrons that he had picked up on his five year journey to various force cultures. He knew they would more than likely find themselves into Luke's hands. That eased his worry. At least he would know what to do with them.

He sat down on the bunk and began to undress. _More than likely he will toss them to Tionne who will promptly compose a sappy ballad._ Once he had stripped himself to his undergarmentshe crawled underneath the covers and closed his eyes. It struck him that for someone as rational and calculating as himself it was absurd to go running off into the Unknown Regions chasing something that could be anywhere in the galaxy for no other reason than because it seemed like the right thing to do. It also struck him as absurd that in a moment of greed he had jeopardized his life for credits that would be next to useless in the Unknown Regions. He made a mental note to store the cases somewhere other than in the corner of the hangar bay where he had spotted them earlier. A few minutes later he drifted off to sleep.

"**We will be dropping out of hyperspace in fifteen minutes in order to readjust course and proceed to the next set of coordinates!" **

Jacen sat up straight in the bed, adrenaline rushing through his body at the loud female voice blaring through the speakers. "What in the name of the force…"

"**I merely wished to inform you of the traveling schedule.**"

Jacen grimaced. He grabbed his crutch and hobbled into the cockpit of the yacht. He found his astromech droid beeping and warbling and tooting to itself.

"Arnine, did you program the in-ship communication to blast that message over the speakers?"

The droid let off a long, and entirely too innocent sounding, questioning beep.

"Well I see a few hours of interaction with the ship's computer has developed your personality quite a bit. Learned the meaning of mischief already have we?" Jacen said with a smirk. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to return to my cabin and put myself into a healing trance. If you wake me again I'm going to give you a memory wipe."

With that said the former dark lord returned to his cabin and lay back down. He reached out to the force and let its power wash over him. With a sigh of relief he put himself into a healing trance.

Two days later he awoke from his healing trance, feeling like a new man entirely. He rose from his bunk and put his weight on his right foot, that was still in the cast Dr. Jorg had put it in on High Port. Jacen felt no pain and decided it was time to remove the nuisance. He ignited his lightsaber and with the precision gained from decades of combat and fatal duels he sliced the cast on both sides in two clean swipes. The sting of heat he felt was painful but he knew he had not actually injured himself. With the force he detached both sides of the cast and tossed them into the garbage disposal unit on one of the walls of the room.

He reached out with the force and scanned his leg and noted with approval that the adhesive had fully dried along with the skin supplement. His body had not rejected the artificial substances and visually there was no difference between his right and left leg. He rotated his foot in a circular motion and smiled. His days of being dependent on a crutch were over and not a day too soon in his mind. He walked into the fresher and stepped into the shower. He let the water wash away the dirt and grime borne from a week of hyperspace travel. After washing himself thoroughly with every amenity the vessel had to offer he dried himself off and gave himself a once over in the mirror.

_Aside from the arm I'm actually technically a human being once again. _If he had had the time he would have had a prosthetic attached to his arm, however, the whole running from the senate and soon to be proclaimed presumed dead war criminal made any minute spent in civilization a minute in which he could be discovered. And it wasn't like he could not wield a lightsaber with the alacrity and skill necessary to defeat nigh on any foe with only his left arm. He had always had a liking for Makashi anyway and Form II was a primarily one handed art. Much to his joy he found three different robes in the Fresher's closet made from a material that absorbed water without becoming wet easily. He donned the medium sized one and found it fit him almost perfectly. Then he grabbed his clothes and with them under his arm he left the cabin.

He entered the cockpit and found Arnine in the exact place he had left him two days prior. "Arnine?"

The droid warbled a response.

"Does this ship have a clothes' washing unit?" He asked it, glancing on the navi-computer's display.

_The second cabin on the right from the cockpit's perspective... It contains a well stocked synthetic food generator and various washing units. _

"Thank you." He replied, returning to the main corridor.

The mention of food reminded him that he had not eaten in over two days, not since he had left High Port. When he entered the small room the droid had pointed out he tossed all his clothing aside from his boots into the designated unit. Once he had turned it on he treated himself to some food, if one could call it that, and sat down at the single table in the room. He ate methodically, not tasting the bland nutrient bar, merely chewing and swallowing. His war time experiences had taught him one thing: to eat when he could.

Once he had finished he left the room and returned to his cabin, sitting down on the bunk in a meditative pose. He had a strong desire to open his twin bond to his sister merely to have some company. He was used to being lonely. He had once spent three months on a planet attempting to find remnants of a legendary force culture that had been buried by sand and earthquakes. Yet now, after being amongst people for so long, and no longer being weighed down and constantly burdened by his questions, the very human need for company was almost suffocating. Especially when he had so very much on his mind…

However, he was too worried that his mother might very well sense him if he reached across half the galaxy merely to converse with his sister. She had always been surprisingly astute when it came to which one of her children was alive, which was dead, and which was in trouble. He blamed it on motherly empathy. In light of all this he began to meditate on the force, allowing it to wash over him, consuming all his negative distracting emotions. He continued to meditate for several hours before rising and leaving the cabin.

He went to the hangar bay and transported all the cases of money into his cabin, depositing them in the closet. Afterwards he returned to the hangar and went through an elaborate lightsaber routine. Once he felt satisfied with the performance of his leg whilst doing the katas and routines he decided to further strain his newly healed foot. In succession he practiced ever higher back and forward flips gradually putting more and more pressure on his foot, using the force to see the effect it was having on the tendon. After thirty minutes he felt content and left the hangar.

He entered the cockpit and sat down in the piloting chair. "Arnine, how long until we reach our destination?"

_18 hours and 42 minutes. _

"What I wouldn't give for a good holobook. At least I had the foresight to stock on entertainment the last time I went somewhere unsure of what I was looking for. That's nothing if not a premise for boring tedious hours spent in hyperspace." He said.

_The on-Ship computer has a decent sized library of holovids. _

"Really?" Jacen asked, smiling for the first time in days. "That may be the first bit of good news since Dr. Jorg told me that the operation had been a success. Bring a list of them up on screen."

Jacen scanned the list that appeared and noted with disdain that the overwhelming majority of them where romantic vids. Not surprising, considering the fact that he had purchased a vessel that was by all accounts primarily used by the wealthy as a pleasure yacht. He picked one that sounded remotely action oriented and let it play over the ship's secondary monitor. He paid halfhearted attention to it and began fiddling with the automatic pilot. He knew from experience that it was always advisable to program a few evasive and combat maneuvers that the autopilot could draw upon in dire circumstances. One could even string them together and shuffle them so that the autopilot randomly picked one. It had saved his life in some previous circumstances.

He followed the lack luster plot of the holovid disgusted by the gratuitous violence that seemed to be used as a filler whenever the action and romance flat lined. When the credits finally rolled he informed Arnine that he would return to his cabin and place himself in a fourteen hour healing trance. "I'll be awake in time for the return to sublight."

Fourteen hours later he arose and, after washing, eating, and dressing in his now cleaned clothing he returned to the cockpit. He sat down in his chair and queried when they would revert back to realspace.

_One hour and fifteen minutes. _

"Good." Jacen responded.

He had a feeling that Zonoma Sekot would still be there considering that according to his sources the Bothan Ar'kai never actually located Zonoma Sekot. The eradication of the True Victory Party also played a role in the elimination of potential threats to Zonoma Sekot. At least one bit of good that came from dabbling in the dark side. _That's probably a little harsh. _He suspected that his newly embraced condemnation of the dark side was borne more from the bad experiences than anything else. There had been numerous times when his willingness to do what had to be done despite idealistic Jedi platitudes had served him well.

He was pursuing further ruminations when Arnine alerted him to the fact that they were about to drop out of hyperspace. After a few moments the swirling light blurred back into a solid picture and they dropped out of hyperspace.

Jacen keyed some sensors and flicked a switch engaging the sublight drive. He checked a holo-projector that informed him of the state of the system. The gas giant Mobus was usually orbited by seventeen moons. Unless of course Zonoma Sekot was still orbiting the planet, in which case it would be eighteen. Jacen was relieved to see M-18 designated on the far side of the planet. He set a course around the gas giant's diameter. As they were clearing Mobus, Jacen pondered just how he was going to be received.

Once he came within a couple hundred thousand kilometers of the planet he realized _his _reception was now the least of his worries. A large fleet of warships was engaging a much smaller force of Yuuzhan Vong vessels. As the _Wayward Knight _drew closer he realized that, although the Yuuzhan Vong vessels were extremely well coordinated and were holding their own in one on one and even two on one engagements, they were being overwhelmed.

Jacen rose from his seat. "Arnine, I've activated the autopilot. If any vessel comes within firing range or draws closer with obvious hostile intentions engage it. The autopilot is programmed to use a wide variety of evasive maneuvers… call it foresight."

He rushed out of the cockpit and entered the hangar bay, opening the blast shield with the force. He swung himself into the StealthX's cockpit and fired up the engines. The StealthX rose and Jacen backed it out of the hangar. He dived beneath the star yacht towards the battle taking place ahead. He did not know exactly what he planned to do but he knew that remaining idle in this confrontation would not serve in his best interests.

As he drew closer to the battle he noted some odd bulbous shapes on the hull of the largest alien vessel. They looked like a layer of bubbles. As he reached out with the force he felt a flood of panic wash over him. Either the crew of that vessel was severely overestimating the prowess of the few Yuuzhan Vong ships opposing them or there were some truly terrified individuals aboard. He also noted with surprise that amongst the Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers he spotted two or three Sekotan ships.

It was at that point that he allowed himself to be drawn completely into the battle. One of the alien vessels was pursuing a coralskipper close to his StealthX desperately trying to overcome the shielding effect of the dovin basal. He skimmed in behind it and took it out with a concentrated volley of his laser cannons. He engaged full throttle and rushed pass the Yuuzhan Vong skipper that was now clear.

A moment later he yanked his ship sharply to the right barely evading a salvo of laser fire from a nearby frigate like vessel. He swerved towards it and noted as he closed that it too was surrounded by the same strange bubbles he had spotted on the larger cruiser like ship. As the proximity between him and the frigate diminished he made out shapes within the transparisteel and with sudden realization came to the aghast conclusion that these must be Vagaari.

The Vagaari were in a state of perpetual war with the Chiss Ascendancy and they were known slavers and pirates. They used sentient beings as shields for their craft by forcing them into transparisteel bubbles. They were supposed to serve as a deterrent by playing on the compassion of most sentient species. The salvo of fire from the frigate began to angle in on him despite his maneuvers and Jacen scanned the ship with the force. In his mind the vessel turned into a crystalline structure floating in a stark white background. He could see exactly where the most vulnerable spot of the vessel was. With single determination he swooped down beneath the vessel and skimmed along its hull. For a split second he felt remorse for the innocents that were being held aboard the ship but he knew that there was no way he could force the frigate to surrender.

He keyed a location into his targeting computer and let loose two proton torpedoes. He broke off his attack run and swerved away just as the torpedoes impacted at the base of the vessel's engines. The explosion was quickly followed by a chain reaction of smaller explosions until the entire vessel turned into a single ball of flame. Jacen cleared the debris and returned to the rest of the battle.

It was obvious that the sudden appearance of a completely different type of vessel had disconcerted the attacking Vagaari. An entire flight of smaller fighter craft broke off from the battle with the Yuuzhan Vong and Sekotan vessels and closed with him. Jacen reached out with the force, using his battle meditation technique against them, touching the minds of the Vagaari pilots. They resisted his touch but it caused them to lose focus, which Jacen took advantage of and opened fire on the first two ships with his laser cannons. They tore right through the vessels shields or lack thereof. _Two down, five to go. _He thought.

Jacen disengaged and pushed the throttle to maximum output. He knew that the other three fighters were giving chase. He corkscrewed the StealthX and then followed up with a dive. He felt the three fighters break off to follow him in and he disengaged the lower two engines of his StealthX and pulled back on his joystick. The ship spun around so drastically that even with the inertial compensator dialed to full he felt like he was going to pass out. Now facing the three approaching ships he reengaged the engines and raced to meet them. The fighters were still diving to follow his previous maneuver and he had the advantage of knowing that, since their cockpits were opposite to his approach, they were unable to make eye contact.

As he realized this he saw one of them begin to spin to correct the mistake but Jacen did not give them the chance to be sorry. He opened up with his cannons and shredded another one of their vessels. The remaining two seemed to become acutely aware of the fact that they were facing a vastly superior pilot for Jacen sensed their fear. They did not even complete their dive but broke off, vectoring towards their cruiser. Jacen chased them down and took them out quickly.

He checked his sensors and noted with pleasure that the remaining fighters that had stayed behind to take care of the Yuuzhan Vong ships had been destroyed. The remaining Vagaari frigate and cruiser had engaged their sublight and were making themselves scarce. Jacenconsidered for a moment to hunt them down but just as those thoughts crossed his mind the two ships streaked away into hyperspace.

It was at that moment that one of the Sekotan ships opened communications with him. He switched the holocom on and keyed the correct frequency and opened communications.

"Sekotan vessel hailing Galactic Alliance X-wing," A humanoid face with glowing eyes appeared. "This is Commander Akri of the Zonoma Sekot defense force. We're grateful for the assistance."

"This is," he paused wondering what title to give himself, "Jacen Solo, captain of the _Wayward Knight_. I was happy to help out."

"Welcome Master Jedi." The response was quick. "We would be happy to escort you to the planet's surface if you wish."

"Thank you Commander. I just need to return to my vessel and I will follow you into the atmosphere."

"Of course."

Jacen cut off communications and returned towards the _Wayward Knight_. He flew through the shield and landed the fighter gently. Shortly thereafter he entered the cockpit and informed Arnine that they were going to land on the planet. He engaged the sublight drive. Once he came into range with the small Yuuzhan Vong force he was hailed and informed to follow them in. He complied and the fighters and skippers settled into formation around his craft.

They broke through the atmosphere and Jacen took in the lush green scope of the planet. It was mainly covered by land but some small oceans were identifiable here and there. The lead craft guided him ever closer to the ground. He finally spotted a large collection of buildings in a valley bordering a river. He realized that this was their destination. They approached a large clearing in the northern part of the community were Jacen was instructed to land. He flipped a few switches and dialed down the repulsors and after a moment the _Knight_ thudded onto the ground lightly.

He rose from the chair and instructed Arnine to remain aboard. "Some of the people here don't take very kindly to droids. So unless you wish to be reduced to spare parts I suggest that you remain on the vessel and shut down."

The droid complied and Jacen turned on his heel and left the cockpit. Long strides carried him to the boarding ramp. He pressed the button that began to lower it and with a deep breath he prepared himself for what was to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Warmth rushed into his face as he stepped onto the boarding ramp. A crowd of Yuuzhan Vong had assembled at the base of his ship. Some of them were scarred and "adorned" and some looked relatively unscathed. Still others looked sickly and deformed. They were the Shamed Ones, or as they referred to themselves after the liberation of Coruscant: the Extolled. His eyes swept across them and he noted that none of them broke his gaze though something like respect flashed through the eyes of a few of the warriors.

He stepped onto the ground and momentarily relished the feeling of the soft natural ground beneath his boots. A single Ferroan male was facing him. "I'm Commander Akri."

"Ah yes." Jacen replied. "Thank you for showing me the way. It would have been difficult to locate a settlement on my own."

Akri nodded and beckoned him to follow. Jacen fell in beside him and the line of Yuuzhan Vong parted before them. As they passed the warriors Jacen heard the word "Jeedai" numerous times. As he passed one of the more veteran looking warriors he heard the word "yammka". Jacen looked over at the warrior and noted the numerous mutilations which denoted rank.

"_Belek Tiu_," He greeted, snapping his fists to opposite shoulders. "I am Commander Hul Rapuung. I witnessed the slaughter in what you call the Nursery where we tested the dhuryams."

Jacen nodded. "I nearly made a grave mistake that day."

Hul grinned. "You came to understand our ways more so than any other Jeedai. We came to be redeemed through your efforts. I am honored to be in your presence."

Jacen bowed to him. "I thank you for your kind words."

Jacen returned on his path and continued to follow the Ferroan Commander. They walked through a village of various constructions, some of Ferroan design and some made from the living materials of the Yuuzhan Vong. Jacen attempted to strike up a casual conversation. He learned that the name of the town was Yam'sot and that it was home to members of the warrior caste and more militant Ferroans. It also served as the base of any and all members of the Zonoma Sekot Defense Force.

"I see you took the title of Commander," Jacen said. "Is it because…?"

"… I decided to take on one of the Yuuzhan Vong military ranks?" Akri finished for him. "Yes. I am not so arrogant as to presume to tell the Yuuzhan Vong warrior caste how to structure their military. They did nearly conquer the galaxy after all."

"So you adopted some of their customs into Ferroan culture?" Jacen asked.

"More like we made a conglomerate from both our cultures…" Akri interjected. "We took the best of both worlds and formed a unique mixed culture. Or at least that is what we are attempting."

Jacen nodded. "What is the population ratio?"

"Six to one… The Yuuzhan Vong outnumber us obviously."

"What sort of government have you formed?" Jacen questioned.

Akri led him towards a larger more prominent structure that seemed to be a mixture of the Ferroan style and something unique. "Our towns are governed by a councilor. They have been predominantly drawn from the Intendant caste or the native Ferroan population."

They entered the larger structure and Jacen immediately noticed that the interior was somehow cooled by some technology or biotechnology. "So have the Ferroans been adapted into the caste system?" Jacen asked, curious.

"Yes." Akri replied. "In a compromise, the Ferroan caste was formed. It includes the Langhesi that still remain on-world. And in return the rank of Supreme Overlord was abolished. The ultimate voice of authority on Zonoma Sekot aside from Sekot herself is still a Magister."

They came to a halt in front of a door. Akri turned to Jacen and realized that the former Sith Lord was not yet finished with his questions.

Jacen nodded. "Is Jabitha still the Magister?"

Akri shook his head sadly. "No she died over a year ago."

"So who is the current Magister?" Jacen queried.

Akri smiled and knocked on the door. A moment later a voice responded that stirred Jacen's heart. "Come in."

Akri excused himself and entered the room closing the door behind him. Jacen caught a glance and noticed the long curly blonde hair of the room's sole inhabitant. Jacen inhaled deeply preparing himself mentally for the inevitable confrontation. He heard his name exclaimed by the only female occupant of the room and he took that as an invitation. He opened the door and was greeted by the smiling face of Danni Quee who rushed to embrace him. Jacen wrapped his arm around her and returned the embrace but a moment later he detangled himself.

Danni only then seemed to realize that Jacen was missing an arm. She gasped in shock. "What happened to your arm?" she asked.

"Long story," Jacen replied quickly.

Danni gave him a curious look. "It's a surprise to see you that is for sure." She said, smiling.

Jacen nodded. "It's been what… eleven years?" He said.

"Yes. When I answered Luke Skywalker's summon six years ago I did not get the chance to see you."

Jacen recalled the Dark Nest crisis. "I was quite busy back then. Trying to orchestrate a swift defeat of the Killik and the like…"

Danni took a step back and seated herself behind some sort of organic growth, that seemed to resemble a table with an assortment of devices, on what looked like a throne. "So did you defeat the Dark Nest?" she asked.

Akri waved him over and Jacen seated himself on the opposite side of the table. "Yes. I myself was incapacitated saving… Mara but the Grand Master went on to take down both UnuThul and the Unseen Queen."

"I noticed some sadness when you mentioned Mara…" Danni said.

Jacen steeled himself but put on a smile while making sure that he was hidden in the force. "So you've been practicing your force skills?" he asked.

Danni shook her head. "No, well yes I have, but that's not how I knew. As a matter of fact your impossible to sense in the force." She seemed a little alarmed by that, which was strange considering she was surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong whom were all impossible to sense with the force unless one had what Jacen called vongsense something that beside himself only Tahiri Veila possessed.

"Ah yes, something I learned on that sojourn of mine." He retorted, feigning nonchalance.

"You never did answer my question about Mara." Danni interjected.

Jacen looked at the floor. "She died some months ago."

Danni seemed stricken. He knew that the two women had gotten to know each other well during their year long search for Zonoma Sekot more than a decade prior. "What happened?" Danni asked, swallowing.

"She," Jacen opted for the truth, "was murdered."

He avoided eye contact with her.

"My condolences Jacen… Do you know who did it?" she asked.

"A Sith Lord." He replied.

Danni radiated anxiety. "There is a new Sith Lord on the rise?" she questioned hastily.

Jacen shook his head. "My sister, Jaina, killed him about a week ago."

Danni's relief was palpable in the force. "Well that's good news at least. How did your uncle take her death? He must have been quite hurt. Their love for each other was apparent to anyone."

He wondered if she realized how this was torturing him. "I have not been in contact with the Grand Master for some time now. The last time we saw each other in a peaceful setting was at Mara's funeral. He did not seem well at the time but Luke is the wisest, most powerful man I know. He will pull through," Jacen paused, "and maybe even be stronger for it."

Danni raised her brow questioningly at his last statement. "So you came here of your own accord?"

"Indeed." Jacen acknowledged. "I felt… called."

Danni smiled at him and Jacen thought that she was more beautiful than he remembered when she did. "That's good enough for me. So how long do you plan on staying."

"Well," Jacen said. "If it pleases you and Sekot… as long as you'll have me."

A presence that had been previously nothing more than a vibrating background noise spiked to sudden clarity. Jacen smiled as he turned around and saw a young boy, maybe eleven or twelve years old. "Hello Sekot."

"Jacen Solo." Sekot responded, grinning. "It's been a long time."

"It has." Jacen replied.

"Walk with me." Sekot gestured to the door.

"As you wish," Jacen followed the embodiment of the planet out through the door.

As they walked through the village Jacen noted that none of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors seemed to be pursuing any real menial tasks. Usually technologically primitive villages were quite lively with the bustle of individuals pursuing one task or another. Yet that was not the case. Jacen reminded himself of the fact that, although the Yuuzhan Vong armada had been dismantled, their shapers still grew devices whose biotechnological level rivaled that of the Galactic Alliance's technology. So in essence they were brilliantly post-technological.

He saw many warriors engaging in vicious amphistaff practice matches. As he observed he realized that the word practice could only be applied in the loosest possible sense. Short of dismembering each other they seemed to hold nothing back.

Sekot's voice jerked him out of his observance. "I am not as ignorant of the events unfolding in the greater galaxy as my inhabitants are."

Jacen tensed. "I see."

"Tell me, did the philosophy of Potentium not serve you well?"

Jacen inhaled deeply. "It had its uses… and its limitations."

He looked over at the embodiment of the planet, in the form of his twelve year old grandfather. The expression of Sekot was surprisingly stern. An expression that seemed distinctly out of place on so youthful a face…

"Limitations? Limitations that the Sith did not share?" Sekot asked, sounding curious.

"Force wise I'm limited in the same way. If I draw too heavily on the force I subject my body to harm. What the dark side offered me was a way to get things done without being hampered by a perpetual string of moral confines."

"Confines that would have stayed your hand when you destroyed the Vagaari vessel?" Sekot shot back.

Jacen felt like he was being put on the defensive. "For example. And that vessel would have just retreated into hyperspace, same as the other two, taking the slaves with them."

"You're justifying yourself." Sekot said. "Either the mark of someone who feels guilty or someone who feels morally superior."

"Neither." Jacen reproved.

"If you say so... I'm no stranger to death but I detest innocent sentient life being spilt." Sekot explained. "See to it that you do no such thing while you walk my surface."

"I did not come with hostile intentions."

"So you say Darth Caedus, so you say." Sekot said in a dubious tone. "For the good you did in your past you may stay. Do not cause me any regret for making this decision. Vergere would be ashamed at your choices."

"I have since found out that Vergere started me on the path to the dark side. She was a Sith acolyte."

Sekot scoffed. "I sense no duplicity in you. Then again I barely sense you at all. Even if you're right, mentors merely lay out a path for you, it is your choice whether or not to set foot on them."

"It was my choice. Some of my choices I regret, some I do not. If I could go back I would make the same choices I did for they have brought me here."

They had since approached a river that bordered the village. Sekot sat down at its shore. "And where is that?"

"A galaxy that has not been enslaved by the Yuuzhan Vong… A galaxy that has not succumbed to an eternal war spread by the Dark Nest… A galaxy that isn't torn by civil war..." Jacen extrapolated.

"True. The greater good then? A few must suffer so the many may live?" Sekot asked.

"I think so. Am I wrong?" Jacen asked.

"That is for you to figure out."

Jacen dipped his hand into the cool stream marveling at the perfect beauty of the shallow water following over the smooth rocks. He felt Sekot's presence return to the quiet rumble in the distance and knew that if he looked over he would see nothing but thin air in the place of where the twelve year old look alike of Anakin Skywalker had been a moment ago. Jacen quietly pondered the conversation he had with Sekot.

Jacen sampled some of the stones and flung them out across the stream watching absent mindedly as they skipped across the clear surface four or five times. Sekot knew that he had become a Dark Lord, something that was not as surprising as it was disconcerting. The Potentium did not believe in a dark or light side but it definitely believed in the darkness of a person's heart. Which in a way made Sekot think less of Jacen than a Jedi… For a Jedi would consider Jacen's will enslaved to the insidious nature of the dark side and Jacen's own lust for power … whilst Sekot considered Jacen an evil man at heart for the choices he made. It would not surprise Jacen if the planet would keenly observe his every action.

However, Jacen did not know what Sekot's existence was truly like. For in the end, would that not be like Jacen focusing keenly on an individual cell on his body. It would be straining. Jacen did not know whether or not his analogy was correct or unfounded in truth.

And then he had to ask himself if Sekot was correct. Was he truly wrong to believe in a philosophy, which had seemingly become a giant tool to excuse any deed no matter how heinous, merely to further his agendas? He did not think so but maybe he was deluding himself. He did want to avoid war after war, all his life. And the last attempt cost him nearly everything. Almost everyone he cared about abandoned him this time. He may have ultimately avoided a galaxy enveloping civil war but at what cost. Was it worth his soul? Was anything?

And that was the truth of Jacen Solo, he surmised. Jacen Solo never hesitated when it came to sacrificing himself for another unless it would have caused greater suffering. It was ironic that just five years before he killed Mara Jade he nearly died saving her life.

In fact it was strange how often he had been nearly killed in recent years. He'd had a remarkable tendency of acting reckless ever since he began his gradual steps towards the dark side. He had been at various individuals' mercy and they had spared him. That fact was something that stung his pride. _His overconfidence was his weakness, _Luke had once said of Palpatine regarding their encounter over the forest moon of Endor.

Jacen felt a murky presence approach through his vongsense. He rose to his feet and turned around flinging his hand to dry it of any excess water. Hul Rapuung and a younger warrior approached.

"Greetings," Jacen welcomed him.

"Jeedai Jacen," Rapuung responded, "would you care to spar?"

Jacen smiled. "You would voluntarily cross your amphistaff with a lightsaber?"

"No." Rapuung said hastily. "But Nuntuk Cha has accompanied me. He is young and wishes to see a Jeedai in action. He will loan you his staff."

Jacen acknowledged the younger Vong with a nod. "Domain Cha? Did not your domain suffer heavy losses at Borleias?"

The younger warrior bristled. "We fought well but the metal monstrosity you called _Lusankya _proved too great a foe for my Domain. We were one of the first to be sent in and took the brunt of the attack."

Jacen chuckled. "I wasn't accusing you of lacking valor or honor. I was simply inquisitive."

"Of course, Redeemer," he dropped to his knees, before Jacen. "My outburst was unforgivable. Take my life if it pleases you to do so."

Jacen looked at the young Yuuzhan Vong baring his neck to him perplexed by the young warriors subservience. He looked over at Rapuung who was following the exchange with interest. "Why do you call me Redeemer?" he asked finally.

The warrior did not raise his head. "Zonoma Sekot herself has told us that you sought out to find her amongst the stars in order to resolve the war between the Yuuzhan Vong and your own people with as little bloodshed as possible. Our kind survives through your efforts. _Belek Tiu yammka!_" The warrior snapped his fists to opposite shoulders but remained kneeling. A strange devotion glimmered in his eye.

"Well don't bow to me for one. And if you're alright with it I'd like to borrow your amphistaff." Jacen said kindly.

The youth coiled his amphistaff around his forearm and dropped it to the ground. The snake like creature hissed. Jacen reached out and touched its mind with the force and beckoned it to him, coaxing it with gentle soothing emotions. It immediately responded slithering up Jacen's leg and his chest, finally curling itself around his arm.

The younger warrior retreated a few steps to allow the two duelists room to maneuver.

"He to whom the amphistaffs flock..." Hul Rapuung said with a subtle undertone of reverence.

"I have my ways with creatures." Jacen replied.

With a hand motion the staff hardened in his arm and he spun it in an elaborate flourish. He held the amphistaff in the middle like a double bladed lightsaber and positioned it diagonally, guarding his unarmed side from upper cuts.

"Now do you want to exchange pleasantries or do you want to fight?" Jacen asked tauntingly.

Hul snarled and with typical Yuuzhan Vong viciousness and speed he grasped his amphistaff and charged Jacen. Jacen parried his two handed strike but danced instantly away. He knew that his one handed grip could very well cause him to be disarmed if he put too much force into a parry. The Yuuzhan Vong responded quickly and slashed at Jacen's legs. Jacen flipped backwards and pushed himself off the side of a tree propelling himself straight over the startled Hul. Hul slashed at Jacen's legs as he landed but Jacen parried once again burying his staff in the ground to avoid being tossed to the side.

The strong parry unbalanced Repuung momentarily and Jacen used this opportunity to strike across the warrior's chest. The Yuuzhan Vong barely parried and was forced to take a step back. Jacen spun his amphistaff and brought it down in an overhead blow. The Yuuzhan Vong guarded his head with a two handed block and Jacen's weapon bounced back. Rapuung took immediate advantage of this and pressed his attack once again, striking first high and then low.

Jacen was forced to retreat step after step. A particularly vicious low slash at the legs forced Jacen to block with all his strength but the one handed grip on his weapon proved too weak. His own amphistaff cut slightly into his leg. Jacen jumped backwards immediately. Rapuung was emboldened by the sight of the blood and pressed onward.

The warrior was by now completely aware of the severe limitation brought about by Jacen's dismemberment and took full advantage of it. Jacen had to make use of an esoteric method or he would find one of his parries knocking his amphistaff out of his hand or create a sufficient opening that would allow Rapuung a killing strike.

Rapuung directed a strong two handed thrust towards Jacen's chest and Jacen twisted to the right to avoid it, simultaneously forcing the warrior to duck beneath a swing aimed at his head. Hul twirled his weapon and struck at Jacen's face. Jacen simply collapsed beneath the attack. This move surprised the veteran warrior who tried to correct his mistake by stepping backwards. Jacen took advantage of his momentary vulnerability on his right side by kicking him powerfully.

The warrior stumbled and barely caught himself but Jacen pressed his attack quickly swinging at Hul's exposed neck, bringing his attack to a sudden halt when the blade was an inch away from Rapuung's throat.

The warrior glanced at the weapon for a moment and then broke into a grin. "I see that the years and your injuries have not dulled your skills."

Jacen chuckled. "Dulled? I've gotten better."

Rupuung cocked his head. "Perhaps," he replied. "But if you will excuse my curiosity…" The warrior paused and then suddenly looked angry. "My _tizowyrm_ must have indulged some of the local inebriating mosses. I meant to say interest and it makes use of a far more juvenile and contemptible notion."

"Curiosity is perhaps of a juvenile nature but it's also the primary drive to learn." Jacen retorted.

Nuntuk Cha approached the duo. "That was a very thrilling bout."

Jacen touched the mind of the amphistaff and cancelled the momentary infatuation it had for him and handed it to the young warrior. "It was," Jacen agreed. "Multiple times I felt as though I was in danger of serious injury."

"Pain inspires growth." Rapuung added. "What I had meant to ask was why you have not chosen to attach a—" He tapped his ear in irritation. "My _tizowyrm_ does not know the proper word. It refers to it as "machine arm". I am quite certain there is a proper term for the abomination. Prosthic?"

"Prosthetic," Jacen amended.

"Did you decline the attaching of a prosthetic because you resent the idea of being part machine?" Nuntuk asked.

Jacen shook his head. "No. Well not entirely… Before I came here I was constantly busy, either with matters of state or war, and I was opposed to the idea of devoting an entire day to a complex surgery at the time."

Rapuung made a quizzical expression. "So you would not be opposed to replacing your arm?"

"Of course not," Jacen replied. "I am fully aware of how it limits me in combat and quite a few times it has restricted me from decisively going about day to day activities."

The veteran warrior gave him a pointed look. "We have a shaper who attends Yam'sot's warriors' medical needs."

"And you think the shaper could supply me with a replacement for my arm that looks like my other?" Jacen asked.

"I am not a shaper, Jeedai Solo. You will have to ask her."

"First thing tomorrow then," Jacen replied. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to return to my ship."

The sky had steadily been growing darker. Jacen was unaware of the day/night cycle of the planet but he was exhausted from the events of the day and wished to sleep. The two warriors inclined their heads slightly and returned in the direction of the village. Jacen went the opposite direction, towards his ship. When he entered the _Wayward Knight_ he went directly to the shower and after washing himself and tossing his one set of clothes into the appropriate washing unit, he went to sleep.


End file.
